On Friday, a bipartisan group of 60 House lawmakers sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski encouraging the adoption of FM radio tuners in mobile phones. In the letter, they outlined why radio's emergency alert system (EAS) is "a proven, reliable service," which is why the FCC and DHS should "consider extending American's access to radio EAS information via mobile phone handsets."

"There are well over 700 million cell phones with FM radios globally. Currently, only a handful of FM radio enabled cell phones are in the U.S. Market," reads the letter. "There is no excuse for American consumers' access to advanced technology to lag behind that available worldwide. Accordingly, we would encourage both DHS and FCC to consider extending Americans' access to radio EAS information via mobile phone handsets. Everyone involved, including the American public and public safety officials, as well as the mobile phone and broadcasting industries, stands to benefit."